The 16 Best Swimming Holes in Arizona

Phon D Sutton is one of the main public access points on the Lower Salt River, about 16 miles northeast of Mesa, and it is more of a wade and splash spot than a deep swimming hole. The river runs shallow and slow near the parking lots, which is exactly why families with kids like it.

Small sandy and gravel beaches come and go with upstream dam releases, and tubers floating down from launches upriver use this as a takeout. Lots fill up on summer weekends, so go early, and keep an eye out for the Salt River wild horses.

Gateway Park is downtown Yuma's in-town swimming hole, a sandy beach on the Colorado River in the shade of the historic 1915 Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge. In summer, locals wade, cool off, and float the current on inner tubes, and there is even a rope swing near the bridge. With ramadas, lawns, a playground, and a paved riverside trail, it works as a full day out, not just a swim stop.

Respect the river, though. This is a working stretch of the lower Colorado with current that changes day to day, underwater holes, sudden drop-offs, and no lifeguards, and a 2018 near-drowning here involved a mother and small child who slipped from shallow wading into deeper water. Confident swimmers and closely watched kids do fine, but this is not a spot for casual, unsupervised wading.

Pebble Beach is a broad sand and gravel beach on the Salt River about 20 miles northeast of Mesa, part swimming hole and part tubing hub, serving as the takeout for the popular Water Users to Pebble Beach float. Visitors describe gentle current and cool water that feels great in the desert heat.

This stretch suits waders, floaters, and tubers more than distance swimmers, and a mesquite grove provides some welcome shade. The site stops admitting cars once parking fills, so arrive early on summer weekends.

Crescent Moon Picnic Site, better known as Red Rock Crossing, is where Oak Creek slides past Cathedral Rock outside Sedona, and it is one of the most photographed views in the Southwest. It is also an official, fee-based place to swim, with a sandy and gravel bank where visitors wade and cool off in water that stays refreshingly cool all year. There are shallow stretches that suit kids alongside deeper pools, though regulars describe it more as a classic wading and cooling-off spot than a deep swimming hole.

The site sits on the historic Crescent Moon Ranch, a working cattle ranch from the early 1900s that later served as a Western filming location, and paved paths and shaded picnic areas make it an easy day out. Summer is prime swimming season given Sedona's heat, and the lot fills fast on weekends, so come early or on a weekday.

Grasshopper Point is a classic Oak Creek Canyon swimming hole just 2.5 miles north of Sedona, where clear, cold creek water pools beneath red sandstone cliffs shaded by cottonwoods and sycamores. The pool starts shallow near shore and gradually deepens, and the water stays cold even in summer heat, which is exactly what you want when Arizona hits triple digits. In April it can still feel too cold to be comfortable, so June through August is prime time.

The Forest Service runs it as a day-use site, and the small paved lot is the choke point: the gate closes when it fills, and a wait line forms on summer days. Bring water shoes for the rocky, uneven shoreline, and skip the cliff jumping, depths vary unpredictably and there are hidden rocks below the surface.

Buddha Beach is the natural swimming hole on Oak Creek inside the Crescent Moon Picnic Site, sitting directly beneath Cathedral Rock just outside Sedona. The water is clear and cool to very cold, with shallow wading stretches that work for kids and deeper pools for actual swimming, plus a few rocks people use for small jumps. The creek bottom is rocky and slippery, so most visitors recommend water shoes.

The short creekside walk in passes remnants of a 1930s fruit orchard and ends at a beach dotted with hand-built rock cairns, with Cathedral Rock reflected in the water the whole time. Late spring through early fall is peak swim season, and the crowds show up accordingly, so go early in the morning or on a weekday if you want it quiet.

Lynx Lake is a roughly 55-acre reservoir tucked into the pine-covered foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains in Prescott National Forest, sitting around 5,500 feet, just a few miles southeast of Prescott. It is the largest and deepest of the forest's four lakes, and swimmers spread out to several spots with solid footing underwater, particularly near the dam, the east side, and the southwest side. There is no sand beach here, so think wading and casual lake swimming rather than a resort-style swim area.

One heads-up before you pack the car: the Forest Service lists swimming among the lake's activities, but a couple of local tourism sites claim swimming is not permitted, so check the shoreline signage when you arrive. The lake was closed to swimming for a stretch over water-quality concerns tied to historic mining, but state testing found it safe and swimming resumed in 2020. For a drive-up mountain swimming hole with boat rentals and campgrounds on site, it is hard to beat in the Prescott area.

Manzanita Campground is a small tent-only Forest Service campground on the banks of Oak Creek, about 6 miles north of Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon, and the clear-water swimming holes right off the campsites are half the reason people book it. Both the Forest Service and Recreation.gov pitch the swimming and stocked trout fishing as the main draws, and the creek here runs noticeably cooler than Sedona proper.

The water can move fast and cold during spring snowmelt before mellowing out later in summer, so watch kids closely in the May and June runoff window. One big caveat: as of the latest research, the campground is under an official closure tied to the Pocket Fire, so confirm current status before you plan a trip.

Butcher Jones is the go-to swim beach on Saguaro Lake and one of the busiest swimming holes on the Salt River lakes. The sandy shoreline slopes gently and deepens gradually, and a line of buoys keeps motorized boats out of the swim zone, so families and stronger swimmers can each find their depth.

This is real Sonoran Desert swimming, with saguaros and mesquite along the rocky shore and the Butcher Jones Trail running right along the water's edge. The lot fills by mid-morning on weekends, so get there before 9 a.m. or come on a weekday.

Willow Beach sits in the steep-walled Black Canyon of the Colorado River, about 12 miles below Hoover Dam at the upper end of Lake Mohave. It is one of only five official swimming beaches the National Park Service designates on the entire reservoir, which makes it a rare sanctioned swimming hole in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The water here is the story. Because this stretch sits so close to Hoover Dam's releases, it runs cold and clear year-round, even when summer air temperatures push past 110 degrees. That makes it better for wading and cold-water dips than long open-water swims, and there are no lifeguards anywhere in the park, so come prepared to look after yourself.

Crescent Moon Day Use Site, the fee area most people call Red Rock Crossing, puts you on Oak Creek in a meadow of sycamores and cottonwoods directly beneath Cathedral Rock. It is an officially designated swimming and wading site, and the swimming hole here includes a deeper pooled section locally nicknamed Buddha Beach plus shallower stretches where kids splash around. The water runs refreshingly cool to cold all year, and depth swings with the season, from stream-like in low water to knee-deep or higher after monsoons and snowmelt.

The setting is the old Crescent Moon ranch, an 1880 homestead added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018, so the walk to the water winds through genuinely historic ground. Summer is the most popular swim window and also the most crowded, so spring and fall visitors trade colder water for quieter banks.

Canyon Lake Scenic Beach might be the prettiest place to swim within reach of Phoenix: a sandy shoreline with a gentle, gradual entry, backed by terracotta canyon walls and the Superstition Mountains, on a 950-acre reservoir along the historic Apache Trail. Visitors describe the water as cool, clean, and a striking turquoise against the red rock, with summer water temps reported around 80 to 88 degrees.

The gradual sandy entry makes this swimming hole naturally kid-friendly, but keep in mind it is a busy multi-use boating lake with no lifeguards and powerboat traffic near shore. The parking lot fills early on summer weekends, arrive by 8am or plan on fall, when the weather is still comfortable and the crowds thin out.

Kingman Wash Beach is an informal, undeveloped stretch of Lake Mead shoreline near Hoover Dam, reached by a rough 3 to 4 mile dirt road through the desert. It is not an official park swim beach, more a swim-where-you-stand swimming hole where campers and shore divers wade straight in off the rocks. The lake bottom slopes gently to about 25 feet deep near shore, and one camper summed it up as a good place to get into the water and cool off on a hot summer day.

Come prepared, because this is dispersed-camping country. There are no lifeguards, water quality is not monitored, wild burros wander through, and the access road is steep and washboarded in spots. Water shoes are recommended for the rocky entry, and weekends can get surprisingly crowded and noisy.

Diamond Creek Beach is a sand and gravel bar on the Colorado River deep in the Grand Canyon's Lower Granite Gorge, on Hualapai Tribal land near Peach Springs. It is the only place in the whole canyon corridor between Lees Ferry and Pearce Ferry where you can actually drive a vehicle down to the river, which is why rafters use it as a takeout and put-in point.

Be honest with yourself about what this swimming hole is. The Colorado runs around 50 degrees with a strong current close to shore, so this is a spot for soaking and wading in the quieter pockets away from the main flow, not swimming laps. The bottom is silty and uneven, so water shoes and a PFD are smart, and the remote desert canyon setting means no cell service and serious summer heat.

Slide Rock is the swimming hole that made Oak Creek Canyon famous: a stretch of smooth, slick sandstone streambed that forms a natural water chute, and visitors slide and swim right through it. Set about 7 miles north of Sedona in red-rock country, the park drew 278,330 visitors in 2024, making it one of Arizona's most-visited state parks, so this is not a spot you will have to yourself.

One big caveat before you plan a trip: following the 2026 Pocket Fire, Arizona State Parks has closed the Oak Creek swim area through September 2026 because of flash-flood danger on the burn scar upstream. The rest of the park, including the trails and the historic 1907 Pendley Homestead apple orchard, remains open, so check the park's status before you go.

The Bouyed Swim Area is the designated swimming zone at Rotary Community Park, a 40-acre beachfront park on Thompson Bay of Lake Havasu right in the middle of Lake Havasu City. Buoys mark off the swim zone to keep swimmers separated from the boats, kayaks, and model boats that share the rest of the shoreline, so you get a calm, protected stretch of lake all to yourself.

This is a family beach rather than a wilderness swimming hole, and that is exactly its appeal. The lake is a calm, wave-free reservoir with no current to fight, the city describes its waters as clear blue-green, and the sandy beach sits just steps from grassy lawns and tree-shaded walkways. With three playgrounds, one of them ADA accessible, it is built for a full day out with kids.